Echoes of World Cup woe in Ireland injury crisis

Ireland’s Hugo Keenan and Robbie Henshaw going through their paces in training ahead of tomorrow’s Six Nations clash with France at the Aviva Stadium. Picture: Inpho/IRFU

As reference points in recent Irish rugby history go, the 2015 World Cup quarter-final exit is a real doozy.

It is the game that confirmed Joe Schmidt’s worst fears about the shallowness of his squad and shaped the New Zealander’s thinking for the rest of his tenure. If reminders are needed, Ireland thought they had done the hard part by avoiding New Zealand in the last eight after beating France 24-9 to top their pool but preparations for the knockout stages were blown asunder by the collateral damage of that outstanding victory seven days earlier.